August 9, 1992 | Sheldon M. Novick, Novick is a scholar in residence at Vermont Law School and the author of "Honorable Justice: The Life of Oliver Wendell Holmes" (Dell Publishing).

Thurgood Marshall's family lived on a good street in Baltimore when he was growing up before the First World War, but there were tough kids on the street behind them. At dinner time his mother would go to the front door to call his brother, and then to the back door to call him. Marshall was a lively boy, often in trouble at school, and he grew into a big man, over six feet tall, barrel-chested and forceful.

Here is the text of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall's letter to President Bush announcing his retirement: My dear Mr. President: The strenuous demands of court work and its related duties required or expected of a justice appear at this time to be incompatible with my advancing age and medical condition. I, therefore, retire as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States when my successor is qualified. Respectfully, Thurgood Marshall

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall was released from a hospital Monday, five days after he fell in the lobby of a Chicago hotel, a court spokeswoman said. Marshall, 82, had undergone tests and observation at National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., the spokeswoman said.

Laurence Fishburne will return to Broadway next spring in "Thurgood," a one-man show about the late Thurgood Marshall, the first black member of the U.S. Supreme Court. The play by George Stevens Jr. will open April 20 at the Booth Theatre, with Leonard Foglia directing. Stevens wrote and directed "Separate But Equal," a 1991 TV movie that starred Sidney Poitier as Marshall.

Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital suffering from a blood clot in his right foot, a spokeswoman said. "He is in good condition, according to his physicians, and is expected to be hospitalized approximately a week because he is receiving intravenous anti-coagulants, which require monitoring," said Toni House, a Supreme Court spokeswoman. Marshall, 78, was admitted to the medical facility outside the nation's capital on Wednesday afternoon.

Thurgood Marshall simply stayed too long on the bench. In the end, he was increasingly isolated in his opinions and ended up basically muttering to himself because time had passed him by. All was well and good during the counterproductive years of the Warren court, but that changed when America's leaders regained their senses and reined in a runaway judiciary. If you were a law-abiding, hard-working, God-fearing citizen, Marshall basically had no time for you. Your rights took a back seat to those of vicious criminals, slackers and those who wanted a handout rather than a hand up. It has taken years to undo the damage done by the Warren court and much more remains to be done.